Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger is on the cusp of being suspended after being whistled for a pair of flagrant-1 foul calls - an automatic ejection - in the third quarter of Boston's game at Denver on Tuesday.

It raises Sullinger's flagrant foul point total to five points. The next flagrant foul he is whistled for this season will result in him being suspended for at least one game.

If Sullinger is whistled for a flagrant-1 foul, he will be suspended for the next game following the one in which his point total exceeded five points.

He could potentially wind up being suspended for two games if the next flagrant foul he commits is considered a flagrant-2 which is an automatic ejection from the game.

And if Sullinger's flagrant foul point total reaches seven or more and he commits a flagrant-1 or flagrant-2 foul afterwards, that would result in an automatic two-game suspension.

The NBA defines a flagrant-1 foul as "unnecessary contact by a player against an opponent."

The opposing team is awarded two free throws and possession of the ball.

Flagrant-2 fouls are defined as "unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent."

The opposing team is awarded two free throws and possession of the ball, while the player who commits the foul is automatically ejected.

A. Sherrod Blakely is a veteran NBA journalist having covered the Boston Celtics since 2009 and the Detroit Pistons for Booth News Services and MLive.com from 2000 to 2009. Blakely serves as Comcast SportsNet's Celtics Insider for CSNNE.com and Chevrolet SportsNet Central. Blakely is a graduate of Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Journalism.